After a late morning of sleeping in I walked next door to Sandy's house for breakfast. Today would be an off day on the river. My parents planned to come and visit in the morning, while my cousins planned to drive out in the early evening and stay the night.

After several cups of coffee my Mom and Dad arrived at Sandy's place mid morning. The four of us sat around the table and talked while taking in the view of the river. Rain, wind and cloud cover dominated the area, making my day off seem even more satisfying. After sharing conversations and watching College Game (where my brother was seen on TV waving a Colorado Buffs flag outside of his hometown of Dallas, TX), my parents and I set out to grab lunch and check out the river town of Le Claire, IA.

The downtown area of Le Claire was full of activity on this Saturday, despite the light rain sprinkling on and off again. We walked the street, popping into shops here and there and grabbing lunch at the Blue Iguana, a local Mexican joint. We also stopped by American Archeology, home of the TV show "American Pickers". Being as none of us had seen the show, other patrons seemed much more enthusiastic about the shop, taking pictures with the sign and buying souvenirs to prove they had been.

After spending some more time walking the downtown area, we drove back to Sandy's and spent a touch more time around the table before my Mom and Dad started the two hour drive back to DeKalb. They'd be headed to Chicago tomorrow to cheer on my Sister running the Chicago Marathon. It was great to see them and show them life on the river!

A short downtime was ended when my cousins arrived about an hour later. Cousin Katie, her twin boys Lucas and Trace and husband Bart had made the drive out with plans of staying the night in Le Claire. Once again connections were tied together, as it turned out that Katie had just done Sandy's nieces hair a few days earlier. It's a small world!

After some time spent in Sandy's kitchen overlooking the river, Katie, Bart, Luke, Trace and I headed out to Le Claire to grab dinner and enjoy the night. We ended up at an interesting restaurant full of character. The celling was plastered with dress ties that had been cut off below the knot.

Following dinner we hit a local brewery that had live music playing on the patio. Once the music ended we headed back across the river into Port Byron, IL. Just as we arrived the street dance that had been going ended. In talking with the folks at the bar we learned about the annual tug of war that takes place between Port Byron, IL and Le Claire, IA. Every August, a massive rope is set across the river between the two towns. Each state assembles a team, and a tug of war ensues, with the winning state owning bragging for the following year. The event is a big deal in the area, and the bar proudly displayed trophies of previous years victories. As the night drew on we made friends with the locals. With the jukebox down due to technical issues, an a cappella version of Bohemian Rhapsody was led by Bart, Katie and I with the bartender and other patrons joining suite.

We called it a night shortly after, with Lucas driving me back to Sandy's and the rest of the crew back to their hotel in Le Claire.

A amazing day spent with family on the river. I feel damn lucky to be blessed with such a loving family.